Robert Wise

 Robert Wise


West Side Story (1961)


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1. West Side Story (1961)


What version of "West Side Story" is more popular amongst the American collective consciousness: The original 1957 Broadway production or the 1961 film adaptation? If you have to think about it, then the film version merits some level of respectability. The highest grossing film of 1961 and the winner of 11 Academy Awards, 1961's "West Side Story" was a monumental movie musical in the history of American cinema. It takes the classic story of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and adapts it to a modern-day New York City. Its observations and discussions of race relations was also a timely subject matter in the early 1960s. Beyond its social focus, "West Side Story" is a memorable and iconic piece of film history.

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